Lewis acids are among the most powerful initiators for hydrocarbon conversion reactions. Such catalysts have been used in liquid, gaseous and solid form, and have been supported or immobilized on various polymeric and inorganic substrates, including, for example, silica gel, alumina, graphite and various clays.
Both supported and unsupported Lewis acid catalysts have been used with varying degrees of success for initiating alkylation reactions and the carbocationic polymerization of olefins, such as isobutene. However, in spite of the advances made in the fields of alkylation and polymerization catalysis, there continues to be interest in developing highly efficient catalyst systems which can be recycled or reused in hydrocarbon conversion processes. The present invention was developed pursuant to this interest.